


To Catch a Falling Star

by bonesetblues



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), Bullying, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery, but i don't think this story is gonna Dive into that, listen persona 5 is dark okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:15:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22250041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesetblues/pseuds/bonesetblues
Summary: When her parents send her to live with an old family friend, Shiho returns to a place she's only ever visited once when she was younger: Namimori. And boy, does it have a lot in store for her.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty self-indulgent. I've been wanting to write this crossover forever and I love Shiho, so it only seemed natural that I just... do it. Just a few things: I wasn't sure how Personas were going to fit into this, so I kinda got rid of them altogether. However! I will include a hinted implication that the Mafia may or may not have dealt with them. 
> 
> lmao I don't know, I'll work these things out.
> 
> Side warnings: Persona 5 gets dark and some sensitive topics will come up. Seeing as Shiho's in recovery, she's going to be thinking/referencing it. Also, since KHR has the mafia and the mafia also gets dark, those warnings are applicable to that too, such as violence, etc. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! (And that I stayed true to the characters ahaha)
> 
> (Bonus: what flames do you think Shiho would have and why?)
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues if you have any ideas or suggestions!

It was with dread that Shiho had left Tokyo early that morning. Hugging everyone she loved and then having to leave them had been one of the hardest things Shiho has ever had to do. But, the closer she’d gotten to Namimori, the more the excitement built up. 

“You haven’t changed much,” is the first thing that tumbles out of Shiho’s mouth when she slowly makes her way down the train station stairs towards a familiar old childhood friend. Said friend was leaning against a black car, staring pensively at whatever’s in his hand.

At the sound of her sarcastic tone, Kusakabe Tetsuya looks up from his phone, the worry on his brow making way for the slowly emerging smile on his lips. 

She stops a few feet away, setting her suitcases down at her sides to get a better look at him. She never took him for the type to wear a pompadour, that’s for sure. Not only that, but he’s gained some muscle! He no longer appears to be that one boy who cowered under the fists of others. It warms her heart to see that.

(Ann was the one who pointed out her tendency to make friends with the bullied and outcasted. Shiho doesn’t know how to feel about that.)

“Says you,” Tetsuya replies, hovering his hand just above her head- an obvious jab at how she’s still shorter than he is. She’s just glad he hasn’t asked her about the dark circles under her eyes and how strained her smile is.

“Good to see you again,” Shiho says, moving in for a hug. He pats her on the back, as awkward as ever. When she pulls back, she hefts her bags back up, briefly fighting him from taking them from her. She appreciates the gesture, but she can be just as stubborn as him. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“We all know you’d just get lost,” Tetsuya jokes, hovering at her side as she loads her luggage into the trunk of the car. 

“If I can manage _Tokyo_ , I think I can handle Namimori,” Shiho says, rolling her eyes. She shuts the trunk and turns to face Tetsuya. His face tells her that he doesn’t believe her. Wow, rude. Tokyo and Namimori are two different beasts from what Shiho remembers. 

He opens the backseat door for her to climb in, shutting it once she pulls her skirt onto her lap. He rounds the car and climbs into the other side, signaling to the driver. She greets the driver, earning a brief look from him in the rearview mirror and a nod. 

“So, I know I said I was going to show you the sights, but…” Tetsuya pauses, glancing at his phone.

“You’re busy,” Shiho finishes for him. “Don’t worry about it, Tetsuya. I’m kind of tired myself, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell you.” She didn’t want to disappoint him as much as he didn’t want to disappoint her. 

Some things really _don’t_ change. 

“That’s a relief,” Tetsuya says. “I can manage tomorrow, but apparently things go to shit if I’m not around to help.” He seems exasperated, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes. Shiho laughs a little. So different from the young boy too afraid to make friends on his own. 

“I’ll hold you to it,” Shiho warns, with a little grin. “Tomorrow.”

* * *

Shiho tries not to feel like she’s intruding as she’s brought into the Kusakabe family home, tucking her shoes off to the side in the entryway next to her friend’s. She’s too busy gaping at the size of the place to protest someone sneaking off with her suitcases. Shiho wipes the awe off her face as a woman comes racing down the hall with open arms. 

“Shiho-chan!” Miyu cries, sweeping her into a warm hug. Shiho finds her face smushed into Miyu’s shoulder. 

Muffled, Shiho says, “Hey, Mama Kusakabe.” 

Miyu holds Shiho at arm’s length, examining her from head to toe. Her bright beaming smile is almost too blinding to look at. Miyu pats Shiho’s cheek, then pinches at the skin, raising an eyebrow.

“Have you not been getting enough food?” 

“Of course!” Shiho laughs a little. Perhaps not to Miyu’s standards, but she’s definitely been eating, especially since her own mother’s been hovering over her all throughout her physical therapy. 

“It’s so nice to you again.” Miyu shakes her head, setting a hand on her shoulder. “It feels good to have another girl in the house.” 

“Thank you for putting up with me.” Shiho clasps her hands together and bows, but is stopped from completing it. She’s kind of grateful because bending at the waist still hurts a little. 

“It’s not ‘putting up with you’,” Miyu admonishes. “You’re an honored guest for the time being and I promised to look after you for your parents.”

Said parents couldn’t have shipped her off to Namimori fast enough when the offer to put Shiho up in a room hit the table. Not that she can blame them, considering moving had been Shiho’s idea in the first place. She wishes she could have taken all her friends with her. She knows that they would have protected her from the gossip, but… a new start and a chance of recovery in peace were far too tempting to pass up. 

“Still,” Shiho says. “I’ll do my best to help around the house until my parents can sort things out.” Her mom won’t take long to sort out a job transfer- it’s really just her dad taking his time finding a house they can truly settle in. He’s always picky about those things. It’s weird that they aren’t there with her, but it should only take a month or two. She’ll simply have to treat it as though she’s on a very long sleepover.

“Mhm,” Miyu hums, hands on her hips now. “And when your mother asked me to tell you to take it easy, I was supposed to ignore that?” 

“Yes,” Shiho says, throwing her arms into the air. “She’s babying me and she’s not even _here_.”

“Right,” Miyu replies, eyes narrowing. She examines Shiho’s features for a few seconds, then turns to her son. “Give her a quick tour, will you? I’m forgetting something important.” 

_That ‘something important’ might be lunch_ , Shiho thinks. It may or may not be burning- and if it’s not burning, it’s becoming very crispy.

* * *

The tour is over before Shiho knows it. For the size of the house, the layout itself is easy to learn, which is a huge relief. She’s brought back to the dining room, where she’s put down and Miyu doesn’t stop piling her plate full of food until Shiho is _this close_ to begging her to stop. She’s not a bottomless pit like Akira or Ryuji. When Tetsuya finishes up his own meal, he goes on his way to help out with whatever problem was being texted to him, and Shiho makes her way back to her temporary room.

There’s little for her to do to make it comfortable- it’s like her mom somehow told Miyu exactly how she’d had her bedroom before. The only thing Shiho has to add to it is a few pictures of her friends. After that, she unpacks her clothes into her dresser and then she steps back to observe the room as is. It’s far from picture-perfect, but Shiho snaps one regardless and sends it off to the group chat. Instantly, her phone’s buzzing with messages.

 **Ann** : You made it!!  
**Ann** : Such a cute room!!  
**Shiho** : Thanks.  
**Ryuji** : How’re you liking it so far?  
**Shiho** : I haven’t seen much of it yet, but it’s NOTHING like Tokyo.  
**Akira** : lol.  
**Ryuji** : Well if anyone would know how different country life is compared to the city…  
**Shiho** : Trueee.  
**Shiho** : I wonder what’s changed since I’ve been away.  
**Ann** : Take lots of photos, okay? I want to see what it’s like!  
**Shiho:** Prepare to get spammed everyone.  
**Makoto** : I look forward to it.  
**Yusuke** : Perhaps I will even find inspiration in your pictures.

Shiho thinks about the possibility of Yusuke painting something she’s taken a picture of and smiles. 

**Shiho** : If you do, make sure to show me, okay?  
**Yusuke** : But of course.

Shiho stifles a yawn and plops down on her bed, kicking her slippers off. 

**Shiho** : I know it’s not late yet, but I’m sooo tired...  
**Ann** : Take a nap, silly!  
**Ryuji** : Hey, if you need us to kick some asses, let us know.  
**Makoto** : Ryuji!  
**Futaba** : He’s actually right for once, why are you booing him?  
**Ryuji** : What does _that_ mean?  
**Akira** : Sweet dreams, Shiho.  
**Futaba** : Night, night!!  
**Shiho** : It’s the afternoon still!  
**Ryuji** : Good night.  
**Haru** : Have a pleasant sleep!  
**Shiho** : :(  
**Shiho** : This is just asking for me to mess up my sleep schedule.  
**Ann** : Because you totally have one…  
**Shiho** : :((  
**Shiho** : Thanks, guys. Be back later.  
**Ann** : ❤️  
**Haru** : ❤️  
**Akira** : ❤️  
**Futaba** : Ew  
**Yusuke** : ❤️  
**Ryuji** : Well, if everyone else is doing it.  
**Ryuji** : ❤️  
**Futaba** : Ugh  
**Futaba** : ❤️  
**Shiho** : ❤️

Despite her better judgment, she finds her eyes closing and, as she clutches her phone to her chest, she drifts off to sleep, unaware of what Namimori will bring tomorrow. She looks forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I said this is self-indulgent and I'm carving canon for juicy bits, I'm messing around with ages a little. And by that, I mean that Shiho is 16 - 17 (same as Ann in P5), while Tsuna is 15 (14 by the end of the manga, if I recall correctly? But I'm aging him up a little). 
> 
> I still also have no idea what kind of flames would fit Shiho. I've been debating between lightning or sun. What do you think??
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues if you have any ideas or suggestions!

Unfortunately taking a nap after lunch had consequences, such as _waking up at four in the morning_. It’s far from unusual, however, as her morning routine usually wakes her up around five anyway. She has a strict schedule she keeps since she has to follow the instructions she’s been given by her physical therapist. This means that, upon groggily sitting up and getting out of bed, Shiho immediately begins her stretches. The stiffness in her legs never really goes away, but it’s helped when she at least takes care to do this.

Once she’s done, she finds a bathroom and gets ready for the day, despite it being so early. Being that she’s going to be walking a lot, she chooses something simple to wear. Some long socks that go up to her knees, a black skirt with shorts underneath, and an oversized hoodie that she thinks she might have gotten from Ryuji? She doesn’t know- it appeared in her suitcase when she was having a ‘going away’ party. It could have been any of the boys, but the skull on the back is Ryuji’s style, for sure.

She particularly likes this outfit because she can go jogging in it. She can’t run for very long, but Shiho is all about testing her limits. With that in mind, she picks up a small bag, tosses it over her shoulder, and makes her way to the kitchen. No one else is awake, not that she expected anyone to be. She finds a small piece of paper and pen, deciding to leave a note just in case she doesn’t make it back in time for breakfast.

_’Be back soon!’_

Good enough? She thinks so.

* * *

It’s not hard to slip out of the house quietly, the gate shutting with the slightest thump behind her. With a furtive glance at the windows, she let out a relieved sigh. No one was peering out at her. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, necessarily, but it was hard to feel comfortable living at someone else’s house without knowing any rules. Was she breaking a rule by leaving without informing anyone? Surely her mom had let Mama Kusakabe know about her early morning exercises?

Regardless, she shook it off, because otherwise, she’d be managing restlessness throughout the day. The sun hadn’t yet come up and the shadows painted Namimori in an eerie way. Maybe it was because she was in unfamiliar territory, or maybe it was because Namimori was much quieter than big ol’ Tokyo. She took her first few steps down the road, taking the right. She had no idea where she was going, but she wasn’t going to get lost, not with the handy GPS app on her phone.

Speaking of her phone, Shiho chanced a quick look and noticed she had a few unread messages.

**Yuuki** : Heard from the others  
 **Yuuki** : Glad to know you made it safely  
 **Yuuki** : Let me know if you need anything

Even though she doesn’t want to risk waking him up with her replies, she does it anyway.

**Shiho** : Thanks, I will!  
 **Shiho** : I swear sometimes you all worry too much  
 **Shiho** : I told you where I was going! Last I checked, it was peaceful here

Fortunately- or unfortunately, depending on how one viewed it- Yuuki was awake.

**Yuuki** : The internet says otherwise.  
 **Yuuki** : [boyinunderwear.jpeg]

Squinting down at the attached picture, she sees… well, it certainly is a boy in his underwear. He’s got a determined expression on his face, from what she can tell with all the blur around him, implying that he’s running at a quick speed. Shiho tries not to judge by the picture though. Maybe he’s on his way to something important? Or even the dreaded nightmare scenario where he was late to school and forgot his… everything?

**Shiho** : So… Namimori has a streaker problem?  
 **Shiho** : Also!!  
 **Yuuki** : Among other various weird things going on, yes  
 **Shiho** : What are you doing up so early?  
 **Yuuki** : Ummm  
 **Yuuki** : Studying  
 **Shiho** : Sure…  
 **Yuuki** : Look, just be careful okay?  
 **Shiho** : I’d say I’m always careful but  
 **Yuuki** : Mhmm  
 **Shiho** : Thanks for looking out for me  
 **Yuuki** : Always  
 **Yuuki** : The others are as well  
 **Shiho** : Of course  
 **Shiho** : I’m going to start on my morning jog. You should get some rest!  
 **Yuuki** : Okay  
 **Shiho** : Talk to you later!  
 **Yuuki** : Bye!

Talking to Yuuki left a smile on her face. She’s never been particularly close to the other boy, but mutual traumas and all that. He’s in the group chat, too, but she guesses she must have missed him. Still, she wonders why he’s _really_ awake this early. Tucking her phone back into her bag, she does a few warmup exercises, then begins a slow steady jog.

She doesn’t know how long she gets lost in her head, but her jog comes to an end when the throbbing in her legs brings her to a stop. She bends off and tries to catch her breath. Not particularly sweaty- she’s an _athlete_ after all- but it took more effort to get to this distance than she thought it was. But it was always like that now, and probably always would be. Dismissing the depressing thought, Shiho looked up at the changing colors of the sky and smiled. Now that was something she could never get tired of looking at. It almost made it worth to wake up at such early times (never let it be said that Shiho was a morning person, okay?).

She lifts her phone and snaps a picture of the sunrise, saving it and posting it to the quiet group chat. It’s tempting to take this time to continue exploring the city, but she had plans with Tetsuya. Or at least, she hopes she still does. She knows from Tetsuya’s ranting that he helps run a club with a friend of his (and maybe he doesn’t _say_ they’re _friends_ , but Shiho doubts he’d still be doing what he does if they _weren’t_ ). It means he’s busy a lot and she won’t be surprised if he cancels again.

Still, the thought of him doing just that makes her feel a little lonely.

* * *

Shiho takes her time getting back and by then, it’s a little after six-thirty. The only other person up at that point is Tetsuya, who is waiting in the kitchen looking as though he’d rather be buried under six blankets, with his head resting on a soft pillow. Shiho’s lips twitch at the thought, because, honestly? _Same_. Brewing behind him is two cups of tea. She’d forgotten how thoughtful he could be.

“Morning,” Shiho sings, and if the tone is a little mocking, well, all she gets from it is a stink eye from Tetsuya. She may not be a morning person, but she can fake it pretty well.

“Here,” Tetsuya says, shoving a piece of paper into her hands. It crinkles in her clumsy grip, not expecting the speed at which he does it. When she looks down at it, she notes that it’s an incredibly detailed list of activities planned for today. “Cross of what you don’t want to do.”

“‘All in the name of moderation’,” Shiho says, dryly, quoting her dad. This means that, even though she wants to explore the entirety of Namimori, she doesn’t have to cram it into a single day. It’s hard though because Tetsuya has basically listed everything fun to do and see around the city and he wants her to _cross them off the list_.

“How wise,” Tetsuya replies, a little late. He’s been spacing off since he handed her the list, idly drinking his tea. He scoots the other cup across the counter, closer to her.

“Do you even want to do any of these?” Shiho asks, finding herself swimming in sudden second thoughts. She’s acknowledged that he’s busy, so she’s grateful he’s taking the time to guide her around, but what if he doesn’t want to do that? She’s sure she can manage all of this by herself if need be.

“Why do you always worry about the strangest things?” Tetsuya asks, eyebrow raised.

“Because I want you to have a good time, too? And ‘check out the boutiques’ sounds almost certainly like something you put on there because you think I’ll enjoy them- not like something _you_ would want to see,” Shiho remarks.

_Checkmate. Got you there, Tetsuya_ , she thinks, weirdly smug about it. She takes a pointed sip of her tea.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Tetsuya says, exasperation leaking through.

Still, Shiho can’t help but go over the list with the thought in mind that she can do things like that on her own. No need for her long-time friend to linger awkwardly in the aisles as she goes through clothes and accessories.

When she’s finished crossing things off, she promptly hands the piece of paper back to her friend and continues drinking her tea. He grunts and together they stand there in silence that is only _slightly_ awkward because it’s been so long since she last talked with him in person.

It’s at that moment that Mama Kusakabe wakes up- and following her is her husband, ready to take over the kitchen for breakfast.

* * *

“I’ve never had so much food in my _life_ ,” Shiho says with a groan.

“You skipped dinner,” Tetsuya says as though that explains anything. Well, it did, but that didn’t mean she had to accept it graciously.

She doesn’t reply and instead focuses on their trek into the city. From there on, they skip from shop to cafe to various other staples the city has to offer. Each place they visit, Shiho gets numerous amounts of pictures, often including Tetsuya in some. It isn’t until they get drinks that they slow their pace through a local park.

It gives Shiho a chance to bring up something that’s been bothering her.

“It’s kind of strange that anytime I ranted about someone to you, something seems to set them straight,” Shiho mentions, referring to all the times she’s vented to Tetsuya over texts. Kamoshida had been the first. She hadn’t gone in-depth about the things he’s done, but she _had_ mentioned to Tetsuya that he was working all the club members to the bone.

Next thing she knows, Kamoshida is visibly terrified on the stage as he apologizes to everyone, confessing his wrongdoings, and getting himself arrested for his crimes. Not that she ever got to see it, nor did she want to, but Ann had told her _all_ about it.

“Strange indeed,” Tetsuya replies, his expression showing nothing for her to read into.

It hadn’t ended there, either. When it was discovered by Ann and Akira that Yusuke (and many others) were getting their art plagiarized by Madarame? She had mentioned that to Tetsuya as well. Not long after that, Madarame- visibly terrified- confessed his crimes. The list didn’t end there. Kaneshiro, Futaba’s uncle, Okumura, _Shido_ , among many others. All of them mentioned to her friend and then suddenly whatever problems they were causing ceased.

“Can I ask how? And do I owe you any favors?” Shiho asks. Even if the answer came out to ‘no’ on the second question, she would still feel as though she would be indebted to him.

“Let’s just say the Hibari family has a lot of connections,” Tetsuya admits, scratching his jaw. “You don’t owe me anything. I called upon some favors I had stacked up. That’s all.”

There’s that name again. ‘Hibari’. All she knows is that Tetsuya’s in a club with one of them and that they’re close. At least she _thinks_ they’re friends.

“Well, if you need anything, let me know. I’d gladly help,” Shiho offers.

“I will,” Tetsuya says, but it sounds like a lie. Figures he’d turn into one of those people who have a hard time letting themselves ask for help.

The rest of the tour goes much the same; pictures, small talk, and eventually, they find their way back to the Kusakabe family home. Shiho’s legs hurt again, but it’s worth the fun she had.

Still, it doesn’t quell the nervousness of what tomorrow will bring her: the first day of school.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have been enjoying the read so far! I've been having a blast writing this. Also, raise your hand if Shiho's social awkwardness is relatable.
> 
> I also highly encourage comments! They make me write so much more. 
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues if you have any ideas or suggestions!

Staring up at the gates of her new school, Shiho forcefully shoved aside her nervousness and counted herself lucky that she had Tetsuya to guide her. He stood at her side, letting her take in the building- a lot smaller than her old one had been, she notes- though he did flick his eyes up towards the windows a few times. Shiho tried to see where he was looking, but Tetsuya shifted, drawing her attention away.

“You went over the rules, right?” Tetsuya asks, not for the first time. It’s not like her answer is going to change.

“Yes,” she says, patiently. There had been a _lot_ of them and that’s not even counting the _unspoken_ ones and the punishments that come with breaking said rules. “You’re part of the club that deals with rule-breakers, right? I’ll do my best so you don’t have to worry about me.”

She adjusts the gaudy red bow on her uniform and tries not to miss her old school’s. It’s different, that’s for sure. 

“At least a majority of them are easy enough,” Tetsuya allows, tipping his head. Then, he gestures for her to follow. She does, as she looks up at the building. Her eyes catch on the roof- or rather, the fencing around it. With a rough swallow, she drags her gaze back down and finds herself relieved that it doesn’t look like it’d easily allow _anyone_ to climb over it.

“Yeah,” Shiho agrees. “And I doubt I’ll ever be late if I’m going with you in the mornings.” She’s surprised by how punctual he is, but it’s not as though she made it a habit of being late to her classes. 

“True,” Tetsuya says, with a chuckle. “Do you need me to lead you to your classroom?” 

Shiho shakes her head, but thanks him for the offer. Since he took take of the paperwork, she doesn’t have to go to the office- and really, it’s kind of strange that he can simply just _do_ that without staff getting uppity about it, but she’s starting to learn that there’s more to his friend’s club than meets the eye.

“If you need me, you know where to find me.” Tetsuya waves with a stack of papers in his hand and they depart, going down opposite hallways. 

She observes the immaculate cleanliness and the way students rushed to get to their classes, doing their best to stay out of groups. She raises an eyebrow, then decides it’s a quirk she’ll get used to. Must be one of those other unspoken rules that Tetsuya assured her that she’ll pick up on sooner or later. Why he didn’t just tell her outright, she doesn’t know.

Making it to her class was easy enough and she finds herself feeling too awkward to head inside. She lingers in the hallway, awkwardly fidgeting. Not for the last time does she adjust her annoying bow. She wishes she could just pluck it off and toss it into her bag, but Tetsuya had seemed minutely horrified by the idea- she wonders if it has something to do with the club and his friend, so she doesn’t. But… it’s tempting. Soon enough, she spots her new teacher coming down the hall, looking through a file in his hands. He looks concerned, but the emotion is wiped away when he sees her standing outside the door. 

“Ah, Suzui-san,” her teacher says, closing the file. “I’m Nakama Keiji and I’ll be your homeroom teacher.”

She takes a moment to observe him and hopes she’s not too obvious about it. Keiji has kind grey eyes, his reading glasses pushed onto his brown hair. He has a dimple on his left cheek and a few freckles. All in all, she can’t see anything that raises any red flags.

“Nice to meet you, Nakama-sensei.” Shiho bows, and when she stands again, she can see amusement written all over his face.

“You don’t have to do that, Suzui-san,” Keiji says, a hand on his hip. “Maybe fancy academies do things differently, though, huh?” It’s not a question directed at her- more so, he seems to be musing aloud.

“Oh, uh,” Shiho pauses. She doesn’t know how to ask him _not_ to bring up Shujin to her new classmates. 

“Don’t worry, Suzui-san.” Keiji gestures with his head towards the classroom. “You’ll be making your introductions. What you want to include is entirely up to you. These,” he waves the folder in his hand, “will be our secret unless you say otherwise.”

She bites her lips, wanting to read what was included in those files- if there was a reason for her transfer written so blatantly in there on a piece of paper for people to see. She certainly hoped not, but if it was just her teacher, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? 

(Oh, but who was she kidding? Corrupt teachers exist- she knows that firsthand.)

“Shall we?” Keiji asks, after a moment of silence. Instead of waiting for her to reply, he opens the door and enters theatrically. She stifles a surprised giggle as he flips back his hair and his glasses go flying. She’s quick enough to dart forward and catch them before they hit the floor, although she regrets it when her actions put her in the spotlight.

She takes a moment to observe her new classmates as Keiji begins a spiel about being welcoming. No one in particular sticks out all that much- she sees a few people gossiping about her and it makes her feel… not great, but she deals with it and turns back to her teacher to hand him his glasses back.

“Please introduce yourself, Suzui-san,” Keiji says, thanking her. He tucks his glasses on the collar of his shirt and leans against his desk, arms folded across his chest. “Favorite color, hobbies- whatever you’d like to share with us.”

_Let’s stick to the basics_ , she thinks.

“Hello,” she greets. “It’s nice to meet you! My name is Suzui Shiho. My favorite color is red and I’m really into taking pictures lately. Please take care of me.” She finishes off with another bow. She hopes that’s good enough.

Keiji claps and then directs her to an empty seat by the windows. She quickly makes her way to her desk and puts the strap of her bag over the back of her chair, plopping down onto her seat. She’s friendly enough when her desk neighbors speak to her, introducing themselves, but things quickly quiet down when their teacher calls for their attention.

She feels lucky that her homeroom teacher is doing his best to keep their lessons as fresh and as exciting as possible. Shiho’s never neglected her classes just because they’ve been boring, but it helps that she doesn’t want to fall asleep as she begins taking her notes. She fiddles with the pen Makoto had given her- it’s got pandas on it and the ink has glitter, how adorable! Sadly, it does not go with the alien notebook Futaba got her. Oh well.

Shiho tries not to move around too much in her desk and relief fills her when lunch comes about. She gets up quickly and grabs her bento, alarmed when students surround her- asking questions about where she transferred from. She opens her mouth to answer when a familiar face pokes his head into the classroom.

“Excuse me,” Shiho says, softly, dancing around the group of students and quickly making her way over to Tetsuya. She’s very aware that avoiding her classmates won’t do her any favors if she wants to make friends, but their questions are too much right now. Surely she can deal with it later?

* * *

After an incredibly strange lunch, where she ate her bento surrounded by a bunch of club members with the same pompadour as Tetsuya, she makes her way back to her class. She still has ten minutes before the bell indicates everyone should start heading back, but she didn’t want to wait around Tetsuya, while he was filling out some paperwork. Again, she thinks that should be the school staff’s job, but what does she know about _this_ school? Her only reference is Shujin (even though she knows this can’t possibly be normal).

Interrupting her thoughts, she hears a thud and a small ‘ow’. Ignoring her intrigue is hard, so she doesn’t. She peeks around the corner of the hall she’s walking down and spots a student surrounded by books. No one’s around, which leads her to walk over and kneel to help him, trying not to be embarrassed by the loud popping of her knees. 

“Ah, um, you don’t have to do that,” the student in front of her says, almost stuttering. 

Shiho looks up with a small smile- it’s far from a genuine one, but she hopes it’s reassuring enough. 

Hm, now that she’s facing him head-on, something about him is familiar.

“Don’t worry,” she says, handing over a stack of books. “Treat others how you want to be treated, right?” If this happened to her, she’d hope someone would be kind enough to help her gather her things. 

The boy, she notes, has spiky brown hair that defies all laws of gravity and equally brown eyes. There’s a blush on his cheeks- no doubt ashamed that she witnessed this ‘embarrassing’ event. Oh! 

“Underwear boy!” She blurts, then feels her cheeks darken, as she watches his cheeks blossom just as red as hers.

“What?” He sputters, his hands pausing from where they’d been reaching out to grab his things. 

“Sorry,” she says, ducking her head, all but shoving his books into his hands. “I- um, a friend of mine might have looked some things up about Namimori and I…, ah, you’re-”

“It’s on the _internet_?” The boy wails in despair, slumping in resignation. 

_What a bummer_ , she thinks. _Another great first impression, Shiho. Well done. First tell Ann her paintings suck, now this._

“Knowing Yuuki, he probably had to dig _really_ deep to find it,” she tries to assure him but knows she failed when the boy continues to look defeated. “Um, I’m Suzui Shiho?”

The boy peeks up at her, recognizing that she must be new. 

“Sawada Tsunayoshi,” he introduces himself, mind temporarily distracted from his internet infamy. 

“What year are you?” Shiho asks, snatching a piece of paper up near her heel, seeing a big red score of ‘78’ before it’s grabbed from her. 

He mumbles something under his breath- it’s the year below her, she notes out loud.

“Tsuna!” Comes a cheery greeting from down the hall. Shiho looks up to see two figures walking towards them- one towering over the silver-haired boy next to him.

“Ah, Takeshi! Hayato!” Tsunayoshi stutters over the names but seems genuinely relieved and happy to see them. 

_They must be close friends._

“Is she bothering you, Tsuna?” The silver-haired boy asks, glaring down at her. 

It’s been a long time since she’s been intimidated by someone and she shrinks under his gaze, fingers pausing where they’d been feeling for a wandering pencil, having bumped it with her nails a few seconds beforehand.

The tall boy beside him is smiling, but there’s an edge there that she thinks other people would miss if they weren’t looking hard enough.

“Class!” She blurts, after a second, standing up. It elicits another _snap-crackle-and-pop_ from her knees and she bows before them both. “Nice meeting you, Sawada-san.” She doesn’t think the boy would tell his friends she was bullying him, but she _had_ kind of intruded on his space, hadn’t she? And called him underwear boy. Maybe he’d take offense to that and tell them? She doesn’t stick around to find out. She waves and then shuffles down the hall at a hurried pace.

She wishes she could pull her phone out and ask for advice from Ann- who would no doubt laugh at her social clumsiness as she always does. Unfortunately, after reading the school rules seven separate times thanks to Tetsuya’s insistence, she knows that cellphones are strictly prohibited even outside of class, until the end of the day. She tries not to slump and clasps her hands together, fidgeting. Why was she like this? 

* * *

She keeps going back to the incident even after school has ended and she’s managed to escape the crowd of curious classmates by giving them _some_ answers. Enough to satisfy them for now, at least, and she longs to sprint to the exit, but she doesn’t want to earn Tetsuya’s ire. Why so many rules? 

Once she’s out the doors, she looks back at the building and wonders if she should wait for him, but decides against it. Simply because he has club duties and he wouldn’t come out until _way_ later. This could be a good opportunity to go shopping for some things. It’ll probably turn into clothes shopping, but the things she’d seen while walking around were super cute! Besides, she promised her friends souvenirs, too. 

As she decides that’s what she’ll do, she turns and catches sight of that Sawada boy, walking with a few friends. They both catch each other’s eyes and both turn red, remembering their earlier encounter. Strangely enough, the boy is walking with a baby in a suit. 

_Cute!_ She thinks. _Also, kind of cryptic?_

She doesn’t know many parents that put their babies in suits and lets them walk around alone, but then again maybe he’s Sawada’s brother? They don’t _look_ related, but he could be adopted. Or have a different parent? 

As she’s pondering, the silver-haired boy suddenly shouts, “ _You!_ ” 

She looks at his pointing finger and realizes it’s aiming in her direction. She looks around, sees no one else, then points at herself in question. 

Sawada looks infinitely more embarrassed than he had before, except there’s exasperation there, and the baby in the suit turns to her direction. 

The attention is too much and the expression on the silver-haired boy’s face is far from friendly, from what she can tell, so instead of sticking around to find out what he wants, she darts out the gates. She hears shouting behind her and speeds up, dipping into various alleys, hoping that the numerous twists and turns will cover where she went. 

Her speed, while nothing like it used to be, is still nothing to scoff at. She’s an athlete, after all. She makes it to the shopping district in no time and weaves herself into the crowd. She doesn’t let herself breathe a sigh of relief until she’s in a boutique, surrounded by frilly clothes that are more Haru’s style than her own. She plops down into a chair and hopes that her following school days are nothing like this one. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be a slow chapter, but Shiho's processing What Just Happened. Things will pick up soon enough! 
> 
> I highly encourage comments! They make me write so much more. ❤️
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues if you have any ideas or suggestions!

Having made her getaway, from what she could tell, Shiho finds herself browsing the little store she ended up in. There’s not much here that she wanted for herself, but she does pick up a cute headband that she thinks Haru might love. It has a pink rose where it should sit by the wearer’s ear. Even if Haru didn’t like it, maybe Makoto would? With that in mind, she pushes away her doubts and purchases it. Then she puts it gently in her bag.

With enough time to calm down, shame begins to creep in. What if that silver-haired boy was only wanting to talk to her? She’s had plenty of experience (with herself and her friends) when it comes to social ineptitude. Except, the silver-haired boy had been pretty aggressive, so she couldn’t have been too sure of what he wanted with her. Interrogation, maybe? Either way, she’s never known herself to be the type to judge by how someone looks and it feels as though that’s exactly what she’s done.

She slumps her shoulders, before deciding she won’t run away in the future if she encounters that group again. With that in mind, she turns and makes her way out, pausing at the door. She peers around and hopes she’s going the right way when she turns left. Not to mention that she can’t see any of those boys- she doesn’t want to avoid them, no, but she also doesn’t want a confrontation when she’s already overwhelmed.

_I’ll save that for another day_ , she thinks, knowing her future self will hate her past self for these very words.

Walking back to the Kusakabe family home, she loosens up her red bow and eventually pulls it from around her neck. She considers shoving it into her bag to get ‘lost’ but decides against it. Knowing Tetsuya, he’ll have extras. She exhales, her bangs floating upwards, then dropping back down against her forehead.

Her phone buzzes.

**Ann** : Shiho!!  
**Ann** : Details!! How was your first day? 

Shiho smiles to herself, feeling warm. 

**Shiho** : Hm… I don’t know…  
**Ann** : Don’t be like that!  
**Ryuji** : Yeah, tell us.  
**Futaba** : Unless it was horrifying.  
**Futaba** : And we’re making you relive it.  
**Yusuke** : Such a negative outlook.  
**Shiho** : It wasn’t the best, I admit.  
**Futaba** : :O  
**Ryuji** : You jinxed it!  
**Akira** : What happened?

Shiho wonders how she can convey what happened without feeling silly. She braces herself for the embarrassment once more.

**Shiho** : Well, okay.  
**Shiho** : First off, I was nervous!  
**Yuuki** : [eatingpopcorn.gif]  
**Shiho** : :(  
**Ryuji** : Continue…  
**Shiho** : This boy dropped his stuff everywhere and I went to help him pick it up.  
**Haru** : How kind of you!  
**Makoto** : I’m sure he appreciated it.  
**Shiho** : Yeah, until I blurted out ‘underwear boy’ at him.  
**Yuuki** : Wait…  
**Ryuji** : What the fuck does that even mean?  
**Futaba** : [screenshot-yuuki&shiho.jpg]

Shiho squints at the screen and comes to a jarring realization that somehow Futaba got her hands on her and Yuuki’s conversation. Part of her is impressed, the other part wonders if she should be concerned.

**Shiho** : Do I want to know how you got our conversation?  
**Ryuji** : Lmao wait, does that mean you ran into underwear boy?  
**Futaba** : :3c  
**Shiho** : Yes, Ryuji.  
**Shiho** : I ran into the underwear boy.  
**Shiho** : And he was so nice and nervous, too.  
**Shiho** : I felt so awful!  
**Shiho** : He didn’t even know someone had taken a picture and uploaded it to the internet.  
**Shiho** : I had to be the one to deliver the bad news. 

There’s a long moment of silence in the group chat, in which she knows everyone is laughing at her and her misery. 

**Ann** : Remember when you said my paintings suck?  
**Akira** : Next thing you know, you’ll be the best of friends.  
**Shiho** : Sure, if it weren’t for his scary friends who thought I was bullying him.  
**Ann** : If anyone messes with you, let us know!  
**Shiho** : Thanks…  
**Shiho** : I don’t know what they wanted with me, so I kind of just… ran away.  
**Futaba** : Nyoom.  
**Yuuki** : Maybe they just want to talk?

_Way ahead of you, Yuuki_ , she thinks with a smile. 

**Shiho** : I didn’t think of that until a couple minutes ago, actually.  
**Shiho** : If I see them tomorrow, I won’t run away!  
**Ann** : Shiho…  
**Ann** : It was your first day of school, so don’t feel too bad! You were probably overwhelmed.  
**Shiho** : You know me too well.  
**Ann** : Of course :)  
**Shiho** : Thanks again, everyone!

When she looks up, she sees that she’s made it to her temporary home. She lets herself in, calling out to anyone home, and toes off her shoes at the entryway, trading out for some slippers. She takes a moment to organize her shoes so no one trips on them and then walks down the hall, heading to her room. She has an inkling that aside from some people who work around the house, she’s alone for now.

Plunking her bag down, she flops onto her bed and stretches out, burying her way into her pillow, where she allows herself to unwind. The tension she hadn’t noticed leaves her shoulders achy and she sighs. Twenty minutes pass before she sits up and decides to get started on homework. At least she hasn’t fallen behind in her studies or she’d be very lost.

* * *

The front door closes with a thud that jolts Shiho from browsing on her phone. The group chat has been spammed with sixteen different pictures of Morgana, each one looking even more exasperated than the rest. Shiho doesn’t know where Akira found that cat, but she loves him very much.

She sits up and heads out towards the living room, where he’s sprawled himself across the couch. If he continues to stress that much, Shiho has no doubts he’ll have gray hairs within the next couple of years. She wonders if club business is that tough or if it’s a special case.

“Long day?” She asks, taking a seat on the recliner next to him.

“Always,” Tetsuya admits. “How was yours?”

“Uh,” Shiho pauses, then resigns herself to the fate of recounting her tales yet again. 

After some silence, Tetsuya finally sits up, face unreadable.

“You wouldn’t happen to know them, would you?” Shiho asks. As if he wouldn’t, if that club of his friend’s is _that_ integrated into the school’s system.

“Gokudera Hayato is the silver-haired one, Yamamoto Takeshi is the tall one. Tell me if they start bothering you,” Tetsuya says, tone dry. 

She has a feeling that those two and Sawada make a lot of trouble for him. She’d pester him for more about what he knows, but firsthand experience has told her that other people’s views about their peers are incredibly biased. Instead, she asks;

“How does Gokudera-san get away with silver hair and a messy uniform?”

“He doesn’t,” Tetsuya says, ominously. Then he shrugs. “Apparently his hair is natural, which isn’t technically against the rules, but the way he wears his uniform is. Not that, that’s ever stopped him from doing whatever he wants with it.”

So either he’s one of those stereotypical bad boys who thwart authority at every turn they can get or he simply has a preferred style and isn’t about to let anyone tell him what he can and can’t wear. Or both. Or neither. It does leave her wondering what the punishment for wearing a messy uniform is. Not that she plans on finding out personally.

“So… I shouldn’t be too worried?” She tugs her legs up to her chest and wraps an arm around them, setting her chin down on her knees, watching Tetsuya ponder her question.

“No,” Tetsuya says, but he hesitates. “Or, I hope not? They don’t normally pull in ‘outsiders’.” 

“Ah, a close group then.” Shiho is reminded of Ann and company- what happens when a bunch of outcasts comes together. Still, it sounds like there’s more behind that than Tetsuya is willing to share. She can respect that, though. She wouldn’t go around telling people about her friends and whatever activities they get up to. 

“Have been for a couple of years,” Tetsuya confirms. “From the sounds of your meeting, Gokudera-san is going to question you for ulterior motives and then keep you as far away from Sawada as possible.”

“Ulterior motives?” Shiho asks, fingers curling around a strand of her hair idly. “Why would I…?”

“Sawada’s got a track record for being one of the most bullied students in Namimori,” Tetsuya states, as though he’s talking about the weather. 

Shiho stares at him, not sure what to say about that. It’s both sad and concerning. 

“And… what? People got away with that?” Shiho drops her legs from her chest, sitting up in alarm.

“Unfortunately,” Tetsuya says. “It wasn’t even other students, it was some teachers and parents. Everyone called him dame-Tsuna at some point. If Gokudera-san or Yamamoto-san hear anyone, though…”

“That’s horrible,” Shiho murmurs, hands clasped over her lap. She feels just that more bad for her encounter earlier. “How long?”

“His entire life,” Tetsuya shrugs, guessing. There’s a tightness to his gaze that suggests he’s not happy about it, either. “It didn’t stop until a year ago when his friends came into the picture.”

It is then that she comes to the horrible realization that a kid, all alone, had to face years upon years of name-calling, among other things. She closes her eyes and tries not to feel sick. She’s never once liked bullies. And she’s going to school with some of those people? Ugh.

“That’s a lot to process,” Shiho says. And it really is. 

“Yeah,” Tetsuya agrees, but after a moment, he shakes his head. “Don’t worry about Sawada too much. Or his friends.”

_Easier said than done_ , she thinks. Still, it’s not her business. If Sawada was still alone, without friends, that might have changed. She’s never been able to resist making friends with those who don’t have any (Ann comes to mind, when they first met, followed by Ryuji). She can only be glad that he has friends now and that they care enough about him that they were worried when they saw her crouched beside him. Maybe they thought she pushed his belongings out of his hands? Who knows? 

“I can see you thinking hard over there,” Tetsuya jokes, pulling her attention away from her thoughts. He holds up a movie, raising an eyebrow. 

Shiho grins at him. Just what she needs to keep her mind preoccupied and it’s _much_ better than homework.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any interactions or things you want to see, let me know! I'm open to hearing your ideas and thoughts.
> 
> I highly encourage comments! They make me write so much more. ❤️
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues if you have any ideas or suggestions!
> 
> Side note: Reborn appears as a baby in this because although the curse is over, he's still going through the aging process? And it's accelerated, but he's still small at this point. So yeah.

Although Shiho’s morning is calm and quiet, having managed to make it to her classroom with little fanfare, she finds herself distracted by her worries all the same. There’s not much she can do about it when there’s the feeling of something looming over her head. That’s why, when lunch comes along, she decides to be proactive and go to the secondary source of her anxieties.

Finding Sawada is not as hard as he could have been. He’s packed in the middle of a group, his friends no doubt, standing right outside his classroom. They’re the last students to leave and Shiho takes a moment to gather some fragments of her confidence. She with a heaved sigh, Shiho comes out from behind the corner of the hall, where she’d been hiding.

Her approach quiets the group and some faces stare in curiosity, while others hold more suspicion. It’s a little insulting, but she now understands where it comes from, thanks to Tetsuya. Their conversation the night before had been enlightening and now she knows, somewhat, how to approach this misunderstanding.

As she comes closer, she observes those in the group. There’s Gokudera, who has shifted himself to stand in front, not unlike a shield. There’s also Yamamoto, who has a cheerful grin on his face yet again, but it seems… _cold_ in some way. There are three girls, one with ginger-ish hair, one with purple, and one with black. Although they’ve been openly curious, the girl with purple hair seems the most cautious.

“Excuse me,” Shiho says, coming to a stop some odd feet away. It’s an awkward distance to have a conversation, but she dares not come any closer. She bows, abruptly, more than likely startling a few of them. “I’m sorry! If I came across as rude, before!”

Shiho doesn’t feel as though she had anything _to_ apologize for, but for the sake of a peaceful year, she’s willing to try and smooth any ruffled feathers.

Besides that, she remembers Ann scolding her at times for being slightly rude at times (laughing when it came to Ann’s trouble with Mika come to mind- she can’t help it, Ann’s so cute when she’s pouting, okay?). Even if she doesn’t think she’s been rude, maybe she didn’t know if she had? Or she’s overthinking things, as per usual these days.

“Um! Um, you weren’t,” Sawada says before any of his friends can pipe up with their thoughts. Especially _Gokudera_ , who seemed to have been gearing up with something snide on the tip of his tongue. “You don’t… need to apologize for anything.”

His voice is soft by the end of his last sentence and she raises from her bow to examine his expression. She wonders if they can see her consideration before she wipes her face until she’s sure it’s blank.

“Who’s this, Tsuna-kun?” It’s a question that’s equally soft as Tsuna’s tone, from the girl with ginger-ish hair.

“Suzui Shiho.” She decides to introduce herself, hands coming together in a clasp in front of her, knowing she’s fidgeting but unable to help herself. “I’m new here.”

“She helped me pick up my stuff yesterday,” Tsuna says, looking as awkward as Shiho feels. “Please be nice.”

“How thoughtful! I’m Sasagawa Kyoko,” the ginger says, aiming a too-bright grin at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Suzui-senpai.”

Gokudera grumbles something under his breath and the girl with black hair rams her fingers into his side. He whirls around to yell at her, but she ignores him and introduces herself as “Kurokawa Hana.”

Shiho struggles to hear Dokuro Chrome’s introduction.

 _She must be shy_ , Shiho observes.

“Wait,” Sasagawa pipes up, the group pausing to listen to her. “You must be Tetsuya-san’s friend.”

“Wait, what?” Sawada asks head tilting to the side.

“How do you know that?” Yamamoto wonders, eyeing Shiho again as if he’s looking at her in a new light.

“People talk, I listen,” Kyoko responds, simply. She blinks, innocently, but Shiho doesn’t buy that one bit. Why does it seem like everyone in this group is dangerous in their own way?

“I am,” Shiho confirms. “I’m staying with him for the time being.” She struggles to keep her hands still, nervous under their suddenly sharp attention.

“Which means…” Sawada murmurs, horror creeping onto his face as he darts from Gokudera to Shiho. “He _knows_.”

Gokudera comes to the same realization Tsuna does- everyone else is a tad behind.

Shiho finds herself utterly lost.

“What’s wrong?” Shiho asks when it seems no elaboration is coming.

“What did you tell Kusakabe?” Yamamoto is scratching the back of his neck, sheepishly.

“Ah, you’re in trouble,” Kurokawa drawls, an amused smirk on her lips. “Harassing Kusakabe-san’s friend. Watch out for Hibari-san.”

“Oh, no,” Shiho refutes, earning a glare from Gokudera when she accidentally interrupts him, too. It almost stops her, but she continues with her reassurance. “I told him it’s not a big deal. It’s- I know where you were coming from.”

 _It’s honorable to defend your friends from their bullies_ , she thinks. But now that they know she’s not one of them, hopefully, they don’t chase her around again.

“Sorry about that,” Yamamoto says, cheering up. Next to him, Gokudera continues his glower, and Shiho decides she’s not holding her breath waiting for him to apologize, because it’s just not going to happen.

“It’s okay,” Shiho replies, smiling. It’s tired and not as sincere as she hoped it’d be, but that’s fine. They don’t know her that well, so they shouldn’t notice. “I just wanted to clear things up.”

She then realizes how much time she’s been taking up and takes a few steps back, raising a hand in a wave. She spins on her heel and calls out over her shoulder, hurrying away before they can invite her to join them, _if_ they were going to.

“I’ll leave you to your lunch. Thanks for hearing me out!”

* * *

Shiho is glad that the rest of the day goes by quickly and when shool’s over, she takes her time packing up her bag, bidding farewell to some of her classmates. It’s with a little regret that she feels no connections to any of them and thus will probably end up a little lonely this year.

 _It’s okay_ , she thinks. _Next year, Ann said they’d all visit me_.

Shiho walks outside and as she nears the gate, she pauses when she notices something. Or rather, someone. A tiny someone. It’s that baby that was with Sawada yesterday. When she gets closer, she swears she can feel him staring at her, but it’s hard to tell with his hat covering his eyes.

When she’s a few feet away, she finds herself hesitating. After all, who would leave a tiny child all alone?

“Um, hello?” Shiho pauses, watching the baby look up at her. “Are you waiting for Sawada-san?”

“Yes,” the baby says in a chipper tone. “He should be here any minute.”

If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume the way he sounded just then was a bit… threatening. But he’s a baby, so Shiho shrugs it off.

“Do you want me to wait here with you?” Shiho asks, shifting her bag onto her other shoulder. What can she say? Her books are heavy.

“Yes, please,” the baby replies, appearing relieved.

Shiho’s lips twitch, but she’s still concerned that any parent or guardian would let a kid wander off, even if their house was close by. Regardless, Shiho crouches down and eventually plops next to the kid. Although her skirt is getting dirty, Shiho’s never cared about things like that.

“My name’s Suzui Shiho,” she introduces herself. “I hope you don’t mind if I do my homework while we wait?”

“My name is Reborn. Go ahead.” Reborn observes her closely. It makes him seem older than he is. Well, some kids grow up fast, don’t they?

“Thank you,” she says, pulling out a small packet from her math class. While it’s not her strongest subject, she finds that she’s already learned this in Shujin. She’d bet her left leg that Shujin academy was ahead in some ways, but considering it was a private academy, she’s not too surprised. As tempting as it is to begin there and then, she reads through the whole packet first.

She’s surprised that she can sit in companionable silence with a _baby_ , but Reborn (strange name) doesn’t bother her once. If anything, he points out a mistake she makes here and there (and that’s strange, too, isn’t it?). She gratefully corrects them and by the time she’s through the third page, she hears the sound of chatter coming closer.

They must be the last ones in the school, outside of Tetsuya and his club buddies. Shiho gets up and dusts herself off. Sure enough, she spots Sawada and friends coming down the path.

“Thanks for helping me, Reborn-san,” Shiho says. Is it weird to be so polite to a child? Eh. Whatever. “I should get going.”

“No problem,” Reborn _chirps_ , looking smug. “Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Anytime!” Shiho glances at the distance between the group and them, then scampers off.

* * *

Without the enormous weight on her shoulders and constantly worrying about Sawada’s friends badgering her about her ‘true intentions’, Shiho is able to relax on her way ‘home’. So much so that she stops at a cafe and grabs a crepe to celebrate her achievement. She’s proud that she’s managed to get such a problem out of her way, instead of ignoring it or powering through it as she normally does.

She also takes the time to snap pictures of the scenery around her, as well as pictures of cats for the group chat. She knows Akira will appreciate all the furry babies she’s sending their way. Futaba does if the gleeful emoji spam tells Shiho anything.

Finishing off the crepe and wiping her hands off on a napkin, Shiho takes the time to call her parents. She stops by a local park to sit on a bench as she does, telling them that she’s enjoying her time here. She carefully does _not_ mention _any_ of the weirdness. By the time her parents hang up, the sun is starting to set and a chill is creeping in. She rubs her arms, but instead of getting up, she finds herself sitting there for a long time, admiring the first few stars appearing in the night sky.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but I was dealing with wrist problems! Hopefully you all enjoy this one. Anything else you'd like to see? I'd love to hear your ideas.
> 
> You can catch me over on [Tumblr](https://bonesetblues.tumblr.com/) @bonesetblues.

Tetsuya is standing in the doorway of her room with his arms over his chest, a quietly amused expression on his face when Shiho looks up from where she’s sprawled on the floor. He doesn’t ask what she was doing before then, just observes and then finally opens his mouth to ask;

“Is there a reason Sawada cornered me and asked for mercy today?”

And, _huh, that’s weird_.

“No…?” Shiho trails off and then pushes herself up into a seated position, legs protesting yet another stretch. She can’t put off her exercises, though. “I talked to them today and apologized.”

“Mhm,” Tetsuya says, sounding as though he doesn’t believe her. “Well, he says Gokudera and Yamamoto didn’t _mean_ to make you feel as though you had to apologize.”

“Okay…? I’m not mad about that.” Shiho doesn’t see where this is going. But, that reminds her. “Hey, wait, why do they act so scared of you?”

“They were afraid news of their harassment would get to Kyo-san,” Tetsuya replies, leaning against the frame of her open door. “Kyo-san has a low tolerance for that kind of behavior and if I had simply mentioned it to him, he would have… punished them.”

She doesn’t know what kind of punishment he has for that type of thing, but it doesn’t sound good. Maybe she doesn’t _want_ to know, either.

“Speaking of this ‘Kyo-san’, do I ever get to meet him?” Shiho asks, leaning forward into her finishing stretch. It hurt and she found herself wincing at the effort. “I’m curious what kind of friend you made since we last met.”

“Ah,” Tetsuya pauses, then shrugs. “He’s quite busy, but sometime soon, maybe? No one can go an entire school year without at least seeing him once.” 

It almost sounds as though Tetsuya is hesitating at the idea of introducing them. She doesn’t know if he’s worried she won’t like his other friend or if he doesn’t think his other friend will like _her_ , but she doesn’t know how to reassure him. She never let herself be worried about what other people thought of her, but that was all before… Well, no matter. She’s determined to find her confidence this year, so she can smile at Ann again and _mean_ it. 

“Alright,” she says, instead of pressing him. “Hey, do you know where the electronics store is around here?”

* * *

The next day of school is uneventful. It drags on, if only because she knows most of what she’s supposed to be learning already and it makes for a boring time. Instead, she tries not to get caught doodling in her notebooks instead of taking notes. She’s not very good, but the sight of a sloppily done stick figure army with vague allusions to her friends is more cathartic than she expected it to be.

When lunch comes around, she denies invitations to eat with some classmates. She knows it’s not the best way to make friends, but their thinly veiled curiosity puts her on edge. Not wanting to stick around for that, she makes her way down the hall at a slow pace. The ache in her joints tells her that rain is on the way, so she crosses off going outside to eat. 

As she digs around in her bag, still walking, she hears someone approaching her from behind. She whirls around when they clear their throat and comes face to face with Sawada. She pauses, halting where she stands, removing her hands from her bag. Sawada shifts from side to side, expression sheepish. Shiho takes the moment to look behind him- his group of friends is nowhere to be seen and she idly wonders how he managed _that_.

“Um, Suzui-senpai?”

_His stuttering is kind of endearing_ , Shiho thinks, waiting patiently for him to continue after she nods her head at him.

“I was wondering if you would like to, um, join us? For lunch?” Sawada finally blurts, hunching his shoulders like a turtle. Even still, there’s a glint of something in his eyes. He also appears to be bracing for rejection. Something tells her that he’s used to it. 

And although she doubts his friends actually want her there, being faced with the wide-eyed pleading, her resolve starts to crumble like sand between her fingers.

“Sure,” she says, trying not to slump her shoulders. That’d be rude. She likes _Sawada_ , but the others? They make her nervous, after what a disaster her first meeting had been. It’s probably for the best that she gets another chance to smooth things over and Sawada doesn’t strike her as the kind of person to pry into her business if she wasn’t comfortable with it. 

Sawada brightens up, a shy smile on his lips. Shiho finds it a little adorable that he’s so proud that he managed to convince her. Maybe he’s heard the rumors about her refusing her classmates all the time? Or maybe he simply didn’t have the confidence that she’d want to hang out with him or his friends? Either way, she follows behind him and a comfortable silence lulls between the two of them.

They head up the stairs, all the way to the roof, and the door opens to the sound of bickering. Gokduera is holding his bento out of reach, a pair of chopsticks jabbing at the air beside him. Yamamoto is laughing, not making any _real_ attempts to get Gokudera’s lunch. She has a feeling that he’s simply messing with the silver-haired boy and is finding great amusement from the reactions he’s getting. It brings a smile to _her_ face, of which she hides by ducking her head. She thinks that Sawada might have seen it regardless (not surprising, as she’s taller than Sawada by a couple of inches).

Shiho’s eyes move away from the two bickering boys, where she spots the sunny figure of Sasagawa Kyoko, sitting primly with a bento neatly on her lap. Next to her is Dokuro Chrome, who has her gaze on Shiho, probably since Shiho first arrived. Following Dokuro’s stare, Sasagawa spots Shiho standing next to the spiky-haired brunet. 

“Oh! Suzui-senpai!” Sasagawa calls, interrupting the argument next to her. “You’re joining us?”

“If that’s alright,” Shiho responds, fingers smoothing over the strap of her bag still on her shoulder. 

Getting an enthusiastic nod, Shiho follows Sawada over to the group and carefully takes a seat, hiding her discomfort when she crosses her legs. She’d have liked to tuck them under her, too, but doubts she could hold that position for long and it’d be that much more awkward when lunch was over and she’d be unable to get back up without help. 

There’s a moment of discomfort as everyone tries to figure out if they should speak up or go back to what they’re doing, but it’s broken by Yamamoto, who makes another attempt for Gokudera’s lunch and manages to actually swipe some sushi. Fury ignited, Gokudera yells at the other boy and the rest of the group shares a laugh at his expense. With the tension cut, Shiho finds herself relaxing, and enjoying her own meal, with the company of others instead of being alone.

On occasion, she adds her own input on things and by the end of lunch, she can honestly say she has a pleasant time. As they make their way down the stairs, Shiho gently tugs at Sawada’s sleeve.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Shiho says, and she tries grinning at him. It feels awkward, but she’s genuinely grateful for his offer. 

“Ah, of course, senpai!” Sawada stutters, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “Um, if you want, you can join us again tomorrow?”

She pauses and takes a second to think about it. If she says yes, she risks being sucked into their group slowly but surely, right? And Tetsuya seemed to think that this group is full of troublemakers, by his tone when he talked about them. Even still, having lunch with them would be better than if she were sitting by herself in an empty classroom _and_ they hadn’t once asked her about her previous school. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d love to,” Shiho replies, watching Sawada’s shoulders relax. Expecting another rejection that Shiho has yet to give? Cute. She resists the temptation of ruffling his hair. 

With that, they reach the bottom of the steps and all part ways towards their classes, Shiho waving over her shoulder. She hears Gokudera’s disdainful tongue click and Yamamoto’s cheerful laughter, followed by Sawada tripping over his own shoes.

* * *

Once school lets out, Shiho follows the directions Tetsuya wrote on a sticky note. The electronics store isn’t that hard to find and this is the only shop Shiho can think of that might have the perfect gift for Futaba. She doesn’t know what she’s going to get, because Futaba’s particular about her electronics, but maybe there’s a cute USB flash drive that she doesn’t have? 

Which is exactly where Shiho heads first. The section is small, but there’s variety at least. She browses through the shapes until an alien one catches her eye. She reaches out and accidentally meets someone else’s hand. She yanks her hand back, jolting in surprise, and meets strikingly green eyes behind a pair of square-framed glasses. What’s even more attention-grabbing is his ginger hair.

“Sorry,” Shiho manages to squeak out, shuffling away from his personal bubble. 

“No, I’m sorry,” the boy stutters, too embarrassed to hold her gaze anymore, choosing instead to look at the floor. His brow pinches and his other hand sits over his stomach.

“You can take that one,” Shiho says, after shaking her head. 

“Are you sure?” The boy asks, tentatively reaching out for the flash drive. His fingertip barely brushes against it, making the flash drive sway. 

“Yeah,” Shiho replies. “I can just grab the purple one, no problem.” She motions to the flash drive off to the side of his outstretched finger.

“Thanks,” the boy says, snagging the drive, but he doesn’t immediately rush away. Instead, he gathers the confidence to look at her and even tilts his head in a way that reminds her of curious dogs. “Um, I’m sorry, but are you new around here?”

“Is it that obvious?” Shiho asks, blinking. She hadn’t thought this town so small that someone would recognize that she’s new. 

“Oh, uh, I heard something about a new student from Sawada-san, so…” 

So he put the pieces together. Shiho scratches the side of her head.

“I didn’t think he’d talk about me to anyone,” she murmurs, not expecting the boy to catch her words, but he does. 

“You left an impression on him,” the boy replies, then pauses. “Oh! I’m sorry. My name’s Irie Shoichi.”

“I’m Suzui Shiho.” She plucks the purple alien flash drive and traces over the face on it. “It’s nice to meet you Irie-san.”

“Same to you,” Irie says, then hesitates just before leaving. “See you around, hopefully?” 

Shiho nods and watches as the boy turns, heading to the cashier. Shiho lingers around, giving another glance through the flash drives. After a few seconds, she grabs a UFO one, too, and heads in the same direction Irie left. Shiho finds herself oddly cheerful for the rest of the day- a weight lifted from her shoulders, indeed.


End file.
